A Request for More XiXi

Understandable.  

The kid's adorable.  

And doing fantastic.  I find it truly miraculous that he's adjusted to his new life so beautifully.  He loves his family, loves school, and just basically loves life.  I'd planned to hold him back on the start of kindergarten in the fall, where he's a July birthday and only been speaking English for 10 months, but he's reading like a champ, so I'm not sure.  Yesterday he read the following story:  "A little fish sat on a fat fish.  The little fish is not sad.  That fat fish is mom."  He quickly told me, "That not like my mom!"  I was flattered until he said, "My mom not a fish."

My lack of blogging really has little to do with XiXi, but quite a lot to do with the other kiddos.  Thankfully it's because they're busy doing cool things which packs our schedule to the gills.

For example, I spent the day with these two lovely people who competed in their very first Solo and Ensemble.  Lucy is a freshman and has loved to sing since she was old enough to hum a tune.  Bruder, as a senior, shocked us this year by trying out and making it into two different performing choirs. 

For their solos today, Lucy sung an Italian aria that she's been working on for several months.  Bruder, in typical Bruder fashion,  just kind of ambled into a song, after a last-minute switch from tenor to baritone.  There are few things I'd rather do less than sing on a stage in front of an audience, so regardless of the outcome, I was one proud Mama. 

Scoring is on a 1-5 scale, with 1 being the highest.  Both were hoping for a score of 2.  Bruder was happy to get a 2+  on his solo and a 1- with his ensemble.   Lucy got a 2+ on her duet and was pretty darn stoked to score a 1 for her solo and be chosen as first alternate for state.  

And speaking of state, our author-in-residence has her own exciting news.  She wrote a poem the night before the Reflections deadline and won for school and district and we just received an email that she's going on to state!  

And our fashionista Cholita is rocking kindergarten and attempting to raise the level of fashion awareness in her home.  For the past month, as the sun begins to set, she'll ask, "Is it evening yet?"  When I tell her it is, she sprints upstairs, to return in her "evening" wear, which always includes a dress, a hairstyle, and numerous accessories.  The rest of us are typically barefooted and in jeans.  

I love these kids and am blessed to be their Mom.

And happy to not be a fish.